XX (the data subject) – Complaint Upheld (Italy, 2023)
General GDPR enforcement action
This case relates to broader data protection obligations, not specifically to cookie or consent banner compliance. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
A former politician in Italy asked Google to remove links to articles about his past political activities, claiming they hurt his reputation. The Italian data protection authority upheld his complaint, emphasizing the importance of personal data privacy. This case highlights how individuals can seek to control their online presence, even after their political career has ended.
What happened
Google was asked to remove URLs linking to articles about a former politician's past political activities.
Who was affected
The former politician whose reputation was affected by the online availability of articles about his political career.
What the authority found
The authority upheld the complaint, indicating that Google should consider the individual's request to remove the links based on the relevance of the information.
Why this matters
This case shows that individuals have the right to request the removal of personal information that may no longer be in the public interest. Website operators should be aware of the potential for similar requests and the importance of managing personal data responsibly.
GDPR Articles Cited
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Entities Involved
A former politician (the data subject) asked Google LLC (the controller) to remove a number of URLs associated with his name and which linked to articles containing information relating to his political commitment. As a matter of fact, he believed that considerable time passed and such disclosure of personal data was no longer in the public interest. On 5 May 2021, the data subject filed a complaint with the Italian DPA, requesting the controller to remove the content and alleging the damage suffered by his personal and professional reputation as a result of the long-standing online availability of such information. The data subject stressed that no legal action was undertaken against him because of the facts described in the publication and that his political career ended five years before the erasure request. The controller claimed that it failed to identify the name of the data subject on the page relating to one of the URLs concerned. As result, it only adopted manual measures to prevent the publication from appearing among the results associated with that name. Concerning the other URLs, the controller argued that it was not able to comply with the data subject's request, given that those were contents linked to the political role he played at the time of publication. More specifically, they related to a video where the data subject tried to persuade voters to vote for the party to which he belonged. The data subject made that video during his electoral campaign and deliberately published it for the purpose of public sharing. These circumstances, therefore, determined the existence of an interest of the public to have knowledge of it. Moreover, the controller argued that although the data subject did not currently hold political office, he nevertheless played a public role as a businessman. The DPA held that because the name of the data subject was not specified in the first URL link mentioned, there was no reason to take measures in this regard. However, wi
Outcome
Complaint Upheld
A data subject complaint that was upheld by the DPA.
Related Enforcement Actions (1)
Other enforcement actions involving XX (the data subject) in IT
Details
Decision Date
11 January 2023
Authority
Garante per la protezione dei dati personali
GDPRhub ID
gdprhub-5760About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. XX (the data subject) - Italy (2023). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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